Ortensia Whiskers Rabbit's Mementos
by Kiwi Lee Scipio
Summary: "My husband just created one of these, so after being pestered enough I have learned that I should as well. Give me some grace though, I've never tried to piece together my history like this." -Ortensia as she tells me what to write, hope you like it


Ortensia Whiskers Rabbit's Mementos

As told to her good friend, Kiwi Lee

My husband just created one of these, so after being pestered enough I have learned that I should as well. Give me some grace though, I've never tried to piece together my history like this.

October 8, 1926 I still count as the happiest day of my life. That was the day Oswald and I got married. Quickly we found ourselves almost buried under bunny children, I guess that's what I get for marring a rabbit, but Oswald felt the pressure of being a father and wanted a job. After looking around for almost two months we ran into a man by the name of Walt Disney. The three of us got talking and soon the man and my husband became good friends. One day in early December of the same year Walt asked my husband if he wanted to star in a new cartoon that he had been asked to produce. Walt had already ideas for the whole family to be in it, but I was stage shy and declined.

While Oswald and my brother, Homer, were working for Walt, I would bring lunch to the two until one day in late 1927 the two convince my father and I to appear in the shows. I didn't think it would last, I mean a show about a rabbit who's girlfriend was a cat? Come on. We were still getting told off by other cartoons because of our marriage, how are the humans who watch the shows going to like it? But surprisingly it worked. I found out people loved the attraction Oswald and I brought to the screen, some even saying they could tell we really loved each other. Well of course we loved each other, we were just celebrating our one year anniversary at that time.

At the end of 1928, we found ourselves having to move to New York, sadly leaving Walt and Ub behind as the rest of what had been the Disney Brother's Studio's animators worked with us to continue the Oswald the Lucky Rabbit shorts. I watched as Walt's family ideals were slowly taken away from the show as more and more Oswald was forced to show suicide and killing as funny.

About that time I was asked to change my name to Fanny, because of Universal's idea of slowly changing the way the audience saw both of us. The company forced us to move back to California and soon we found ourselves acting half our age and looking even younger. Once again I was asked to change my name to Kitty, to keep it simple, though off stage everyone still called me Sadie.

Now something people didn't know, Oswald and I lived practically next door to Walt Disney Studios and when I wasn't needed for shooting I'd sneak over there to see what Mickey and Minnie were doing. About April of 1931 I noticed Mickey was working on the comics for the newspaper. Back then it was done with an actual photographer, unlike it was in the later years. Well, I got curious about the circus set they had up, and I guess the old saying "curiosity killed the cat" almost came true.

In April, Universal had just started teaching me how to ride a horse standing up for a short Oswald and I were going to do later that year. I ended up running into a horse that wasn't needed for the moment for Mickey's comic and decided I should practice only for things to go a bit wrong. The next thing I knew I was holding on for dear life, interrupting Mickey about to make a cage. We ended with a splash, but the director loved the idea so they kept it, even giving me an actual role in the next comic about Mickey mistaking me for having the same problem. I ended up finding myself trying to hide my Disney life from Oswald and Universal because I knew it was wrong but I was having so much fun. The people who worked with us toons at Disney actually respected us as people, who wouldn't want that. Then Walt himself found out.

We were almost finished with the circus when he came over to check out how things were going. I tried to avoid him, but Mickey made a comment about me, calling me Fanny as I had told everyone there my name was. Walt called me over to talk and that's when he noticed who I really was.

Walt told the director who I was, only to find out that the first comic I had appeared in was already being sent off to be in the newspapers. The three of us agreed that I would appear in the last page with everyone saying good bye, and then disappear from Disney's lot. I think the story we told everyone there was that I had just got an acting job with some people in New York.

In 1932 I just couldn't take it anymore with Universal. I barely looked like a cat anymore, being forced to put my tail in my bloomers and hide my ears under a wig, Oswald's character wasn't him and I couldn't pretend I loved that character. But because I had gotten used to working, I couldn't go back to just being a house wife like I had been five years ago. I found a job working part time in a sandwich shop, thankful the owner was allowing my children to hang out in the upstairs apartment during my shifts.

Every once in a while I would bring Oswald his lunch like I used to and meet the girl who had taken on my role. And before long Miss Mutt and I were good friends. After shoots, Oswald would invite her and her brother home and we would spend the rest of the afternoon together.

In 1935 Oswald came home earlier than normal, his ears drooping and I knew what was in his hand. He had been asked to resign as Oswald Rabbit. I knew it was going to happen after hearing Walter Lantz talking to a man named Manuel Moreno about a new rabbit. I asked for more hours at the sandwich shop, and had even asked if Oswald could work there as well, but the owner could barely give me more hours because the shop was starting to lose business.

In the ending of 1937 I found myself being woken up by one of our children. We were laying in field of orange trees, but not alone. A group of older Disney characters were there as well, and as confused as we were. A sorcerer named Yen Sid told us that Walt's Land, as it was called before the thinner disaster, was made just for toons like us. Toons that had lost the love of the audience. Yen Sid explained that Walt wanted Oswald to rule Walt's Land, which meant we technically would live in Dark Beauty Castle. It worked perfect for the size of our family, but after getting lost a few times I asked if there'd be any way of making a smaller house in the newly named Oztown.

About that time, Oswald got convinced by Laralee who ran the museum that there needed to be a record of everyone living in Walt's Land. Since I'd gone by Sadie off stage but Fanny and Kitty with work Oswald admitted he didn't know what to put as my official name. Well, Kitty was a cute pet name but only Oswald called me that and I still liked Sadie but I wanted something new. It was a new world and a new start so why not a new name? I came upon the name Ortensia in a book and it fit. Oswald and Ortensia. It kinda just rolls off the tongue so that's what I took.

Then the thinner disaster hit. Quickly we found the world around us being destroyed by the one thing that hurts cartoons. Quickly we learned that the Phantom Blot was destroying cartoons, leaving a stone stature in their wake. Oswald started a battle against the blot that quickly showed the Mad Doctor's true colors. The Mad Doctor told the Blot that Oswald was going to try to trap him and everything went wrong. Oswald was going to sacrifice himself to save all of Wasteland. I couldn't have that, I couldn't live without him. When people get married and say that their partner is their better half, it's true. Oswald was my better half and I couldn't lose him. I've been told that he caught the blot that day and sixty-six years later was helped in defeating him once and for all with Mickey and Gremlin Gus.

Today Oswald seems to have gotten his luck back with his appearance in Mickey's Get a Horse! and our Japanese appearance in 2013. I've set aside a room in our house for all Oswald's merchandise that I can get my hands on cause he looks so cute as a stuffed animal. Hopefully that room might even end up looking like Oswald's very own Oswaldjunk Mountain.


End file.
